More often than not, the store's Manhattan chain snags the serious authors, while Staten Island ends up with Snooki.

On Thursday, the borough's Barnes & Noble in New Springville will once again host Renee Graziano -- one of the stars of the reality show "Mob Wives" -- while across the bay, the chain's Union Square store will welcome a poetry reading by the WB Yeats Society of New York.

As she signed cookbooks on Feb. 4, Man Booker Prize winner and "The Commitments" author Roddy Doyle was signing at the Barnes & Noble on the Upper West Side.

Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, of "Jersey Shore" fame, also signed at the Staten Island Barnes & Noble that same week, while the Union Square store featured an appearance by "Ragtime" and "Billy Bathgate" author E.L. Doctorow.

Staff at the Staten Island store know all too well that their events calendar disproportionately features reality show stars, pop culture icons, children's authors and cookbook writers, while the Manhattan stores get the literary heavyweights.

In fact, the booking decisions aren't made locally, said one store insider.

"They base it on what sells," the insider said, noting that authors often don't want to come to Staten Island, and would sooner appear at the store's Paramus, N.J. location.

A look at the upcoming calendar shows just six author events at the Staten Island store - the aforementioned Renee Graziano signing, as well as signings by children's authors Artie Bennett and Kate Egan on April 19; an appearance by local writer Lucy Perillo Buttermark on April 22 to sign her book, "My Angel Without Wings;" a signing by Ava Chin, the author of "Eating Wildly: Foraging for Life, Love and the Perfect Meal" on May 14; and a signing by children's author Peter Lerangis on May 28.

Over the past few years, the store has hosted Carla Hall, the co-host of ABC's "The Chew," KISS band member Paul Stanley, Kate Gosselin of the reality show "Jon & Kate Plus 8," Melissa Gorga of "Real Housewives of New Jersey," "Mob Wives" star Karen Gravano, and both "JWoww" and "The Situation" from "Jersey Shore."

Fans line up outside the Barnes & Noble to meet KISS band member Paul Stanley Tuesday.Staten Island Advance/John Annese

A handful of national authors have shown up, such as the Times' Ms. Chin, but they're few and far between. Elizabeth Gilbert, who wrote "Eat, Pray, Love," read from her book, "Committed," last September, and the store regularly hosts Staten Island writers.

Staten Island's store does better than Barnes & Noble's Park Slope location, which shows just one upcoming author event on its online calendar.

And the chain's Court Street, Brooklyn, and Forest Hills, Queens, locations, show no author events pending.

But Manhattan's a different story -- Union Square has 27 author events scheduled for the next two months, ranging from celebrities like Diane Keaton and Rick Springfield, to political and public policy figures like Ralph Nader, Elizabeth Warren and Timothy Geithner, to authors like Gillian Flynn and Christopher Moore.

The Upper West Side store has 42 events scheduled, including an appearance by Susan Minot, who wrote a well-received novel about a boarding school set in war-torn Uganda, author and journalist Amanda Vaill, author Francine Prose, and David McCullough Jr., the son of famed historian David McCullough.

And over on the Upper East Side, the chain plans to host 26 author events with guests ranging from former Second Lady Lynne Cheney to comedian Michael Ian Black to Deborah Feldman, author of the controversial and popular memoir, "Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots."

Peter Michael Schepper came from Manhattan dressed and made up to look like Stanley's "Starchild" persona, but he said he'd come out for non pop-star authors and artists as well.Staten Island Advance/John Annese

On Tuesday, hundreds of KISS fans lined around the New Springville bookstore to meet Paul Stanley. Many came from New Jersey and off-borough.

Many of those waiting said they'd line up for other authors if the store booked them.

"We need more than just Mob Wives," said Elizabeth Gode of New Dorp, noting she'd jump at an opportunity to meet bestseller Jodi Picoult, or Nobel Prize-winner Toni Morrison.

As for the Mob Wives and reality show authors, "I don't know why they think Staten Island wants to see that all the time."

Peter Michael Schepper came from Manhattan dressed and made up to look like Stanley's "Starchild" persona, but he said he'd come out for non pop-star authors and artists as well.

"I love Anne Rice and Stephen King, all of those empty calories," he said," but he'd also want to see Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Del Tredici.

Sharon Burhart, of Graniteville, and her daughter, Hannah, wait on line to meet KISS band member Paul Stanley. Ms. Burhart said she'd love to see "A Game of Thrones" author George R. R. Martin appear at the Staten Island store.Staten Island Advance/John Annese

Sharon Burhart, of Graniteville, who was waiting on line with her daughter, Hannah, agreed with Ms. Gode's assessment of reality-star authors. "It's such a bad representation of Staten Island," she said.

Ms. Burhart said she'd jump at the chance to meet George R. R. Martin, who penned the ongoing fantasy series that serves as the basis for HBO's "Game of Thrones."

"If he was here, I'll get online early, and get a wristband," she said.

UPDATE: Joan Correale, the community events manager at the Staten Island Barnes & Noble, weighed in on the type of authors who appear at the borough store.

"The talent selected for this store and any other store is based on popularity of the genre. Our author promotions department looks at what sells well in the store and the number of books sold at similar previous events for that genre," she said.

"The Staten Island Barnes & Noble sells a great deal of books written by reality TV stars, it's just a fact. When we have a book signing scheduled for reality TV stars the phones ring off the hook in the days leading up to the event. I believe it is because they are 'real people,' and that people can relate to them on a personal level. The phenomenon may just be that the reality TV stars that have had book signings at the Staten Island Barnes & Noble have strong ties to Staten Island or New Jersey communities and many live nearby, thus, they have a local fan base."

She added, "Another very important factor that has to be taken into consideration is location. When big name authors are are doing a book tour they stay in Manhattan. The proximity to the TV and radio studios makes it more convenient for them to sign at one of our NYC stores. "

Carolyn Brown, a representative for the bookstore chain's corporate offices, made the following statement:

"Barnes & Noble works with publishers to place authors in as many markets and stores across the country as the publishers will make them available. We work with the publishers to deliver a balanced calendar of events featuring authors from across a broad selection of genres that appeal to all ages from adults to young adults and children. Recent author appearances in our Staten Island store include cookbook author Lidia Bastianich, mystery writer Anthony J. Cardieri, romance writer Allison Leotta, and children's authors Peter Lerangis, Kate DiCamillo and Dav Pilkey."